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February 28, 2012

I’ve just noticed a genre that always seems to have stunning cover art, Dystopian. It’s getting just as popular as PN YA and the covers are even more stunning then what PN YA is getting. No really just do a search on the Goodreads lists and you can see the stunning art work.

This cover feels like a 90s epic fantasy story. I like it good enough, but it doesn’t advertise well what this book has to offer.

Elysandra Winters has always yearned for a life of adventure on the rolling seas and is willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill her dream. When her Privateer father continually refuses to allow his only daughter to sail, Ellie defies him, disguises herself as a boy, and goes in search of a captain who will give her a chance to prove her worth.

Thanks to the cursed selkie blood coursing through his veins, Daniel O'Rourke needs the sea to survive. After giving up on his humanity and spending three years in seal form, he decides to give his human side another chance. Daniel goes in search of a job and a sense of normalcy, earning himself a position aboard Captain Winter’s ship, The Surf Runner. However, his new captain’s first assignment has nothing at all to do with sailing, and everything to do with his headstrong young daughter.

Years later, when the leader of a band of bloodthirsty pirates murders Captain Winters, Daniel and Elysandra’s lives come crashing back together with the force of a hurricane. Both experts in deception, they must find a way to trust each other if they are to have any hope of hunting down the captain’s killer.

When I saw this cover I didn’t even think that this could be a sequel to Wildfire. It’s cool that they’re trying to keep the flower theme, but it conjures a different series and genre to mind. This would be better suited for a Dystopian read.

Ashline Wilde is about to discover that when you’re the reincarnation of a Polynesian volcano goddess, “new beginnings” are just a myth.

Leaving the fiery ruins of her sophomore year behind her, Ash travels to the sizzling beaches of Miami, hot on the trail of the little sister she’s only seen in visions. But her happy family reunion isn’t all palm trees and paradise. A cult of evil gods-on-earth, known as the Four Seasons, has kidnapped her sister to use in its terrifying new religion. Soon, the streets of Miami erupt in chaos and violence…and Ash gets caught right in the tropical crossfire

Ash isn’t without help, however. Unexpected romance arrives in the form of Wes, an Aztec god of night with his own vendetta against the Four Seasons. As memories of Ash’s previous life begin to flicker into her dreams, the boundaries between ally and enemy, life and death, and love and hate all bleed together. And when a mysterious trickster from her past reappears to derail her new quest, Ash must choose between the echoes of a once-forgotten yesterday and the embers of an uncertain future.

Because when old flames return from the dead, even a volcano goddess can get burned

This is completely forgettable and it looks like a cover for an adult mystery novel to me.

Seventeen-year-old Elliott hasn’t slept properly for months. Not since the accident that nearly killed him. Sometimes he half-wakes, paralysed, while shadowy figures move around him. Other times he is the one moving around, while his body lies asleep on the bed. His doctors say sleep paralysis and out of body experiences are harmless - but to Elliott they’re terrifying.

Convinced that his brush with death has attracted the spirit world, Elliott secures a job at a reputedly haunted museum, determined to discover the truth. There, he meets the enigmatic Ophelia. But, as she and Elliott grow closer, Elliott draws new attention from the dead. One night, during an out of body experience, Elliott returns to bed to find his body gone. Something is occupying it, something dead that wants to live again . . . and it wants Ophelia, too . . .

A chilling new novel for teen readers from the best-selling author of the widely-acclaimed 13 Treasures sequence.

Horrible cover. The cover model’s face just looks . . . awkward. The background is just forgettable. At this point I have really high standards for Steampunk covers and I want the design team to do the same!

I like what they’re trying to do with this cover with the movement. The typography is really hard to read that way though, it’s a bad font for that.

Plus, without that little scythe symbol at the bottom I would have no idea that this was YA.

Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left...his soul.

It’s a lovely cover and it brings to mind fairies and silly love stories.

15 year old Tiger Lily, proud and fierce, wild and misunderstood, doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland, and immediately falls under his spell. Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, big-hearted but hard to reach, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything - her family, her future - to be with the haunted, hunted, courageous boy who loves her. When - as a punishment for her rebellious ways - she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter. With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of PEACHES comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.

Hands down this cover is ugly. It feels like something for a Christian novel or a historical. I wouldn’t even give this book a first look.

A fantastic debut from the winner of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards novel contest.

When Erika wakes up after a horrific car crash, she finds herself somewhere between earth and heaven, between life and death. She doesn't want to accept help from Jeremiah, who she's not sure she can trust, even as she finds herself drawn to him, following him into a grim city of souls. She's not sure who wants to help her and who wants to hurt her. And she's desperate to get back to her children.

Shawn's never thought about having to shoulder the responsibility of caring for his young sister Megan and his reckless older sister. And he never imagined that the three of them would find themselves in a haunted wood, sometimes chased, sometimes assisted, never sure where they're headed.

With Grim, the terrifically talented Anna Waggener delves into the place where myth becomes reality, where family can distort you as easily as it cares for you, where death and eternity meet.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Really like how they all fit together so well. The typography and wing design still has to be the best part.

Stand by as Riley prepares to kick some serious demon butt for the last time in this thrilling, dramatic and sexy conclusion to THE DEMON TRAPPERS series. Riley’s always known that Beck had a chequered history, but she’s not prepared for what it actually means to be in love with a guy with this many dark secrets. Now that he’s finally admitted to himself that he’s in love with her too, there’s no more hiding the truth about his past. And as it turns out, fending off a demon apocalypse is nothing compared to what’s to come...

These covers are sooooooo much better then the individual ones they currently have out. Thank you, thank you.

Victorian supernatural fantasy has never been funnier or more fashionable than in the hands of Gail Carriger. Now her New York Times bestselling steampunk series comes to a smashing conclusion in our exclusive hardcover omnibus, The Parasol Protectorate Volume 2.

Heartless: A mad ghost is menacing Queen Victoria, and as the soulless Lady Alexia investigates, she and her trusty parasol are led deep into her were husband’s past. Top that off with a suffragette sister (shocking!), Madame Lefoux’s latest invention (incredible!), and a plague of zombie porcupines (bloody hell!), and Alexia barely has time to remember she’s eight months pregnant! Can she learn who’s trying to kill the queen before time runs out?

Timeless: Alexia has settled into domestic bliss, but, alas, a summons has arrived that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Ivy Tunstell’s acting troupe in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to Egypt. But the Land of the Nile may hold more mysteries than the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does Alexandria’s vampire Queen really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy become the most popular actress in the British Empire?

FBI agent Lily Yu is living at Nokolai Clanhome with her fiancé, lupi Rule Turner, when an intruder penetrates their territory, stealing the prototype of a magical device the clan hopes will be worth a fortune--if a few bugs can be worked out . . .

But the prototype can be dangerously erratic, discharging a bizarre form of mind magic—and it looks like the thief wants it for that very side effect. Worse, whoever stole the device didn't learn about it by accident. There's a Nokolai traitor in their midst. Lily and Rule have to find the traitor, the thief, and the prototype. One job proves easy when the thief calls them--and his identity rocks Rule's world.

As they race to recover their missing property, they find Robert Friar's sticky footprints all over the place. Robert Friar―killer, madman, and acolyte of the Old One the Lupi are at war with―an Old One whose power is almost as vast as her ambition to rock the entire world . . .(

February 26, 2012

"An intriguing story, engagingly told. Who would have thought a goblin could make such a compelling hero? Darkly Celtic, richly imagined, this is paranormal romance at its best." – Juliet Marillier, award-winning author of Daughter of the Forest

Once upon a time ... A man was cursed to the Shadowlands, his heart replaced with a cold lump of gold. In legends, he became known as the Goblin King.

For a favored few he will grant a wish. Yet, desperately clinging to his waning human soul, his own desire remains unfulfilled: a willing Queen.

But who would consent to move from the modern-day world into the realm of nightmares? No matter how intoxicating his touch, no matter how deep his valor, loving him is dangerous. And the one woman who might dare to try could also destroy him forever.

Review:

The Goblin King was a sure hit with me right from the get go. It took a fresh new look on goblins—who only ever get brief spots as creepy villains in fantasy—and turned it into an epic Beauty and the Beast retelling. Long ago a group of Celtic men trying to defy the Roman Empire were wrongly accused of betraying their people. An overzealous Druid cursed Roan—the King of his clan—and his men to have hearts of gold. They were banished to the nightmare realm, the Shadowlands, and cursed to lose their souls and become goblins. Creatures without souls who could only lust after gold and blood. Anyone who summoned the Goblin King could make Roan do their bidding, until a few centuries into the curse he could finally defy the summoner.

The Goblin King jumps right into the tale where Eliza is trying to avoid a horrible man that is currently blackmailing her into marriage. She summons the Goblin King and wishes that he would take her away. The Goblin King is only too eager to do so. However, this isn’t the first time she’s made the request and their story starts back in her youth. Or in the short story The Summons, which in my opinion should be the prologue. Because without it this story just doesn’t have the passion and emotions, making for a rough start.

This book was a great escape. It took goblins to a whole new level and made them sexy. Eliza does not make for the most interesting read, as she jumps from one man to the next. She attaches herself to Steve after her father dies and soon becomes a victim to Steve’s greed. Then when the Goblin King comes along she’s ready to make for her freedom, yet she still has to fully depend on Roan to save her. Husks writing never quite breached the raw emotions, I felt like the words told instead of showing. Roan’s suffering never really came to the fore front with him having to kill his own clan members, living the life in the realm of nightmares and doing whatever a summoner demanded of him. I appreciate that the reader didn’t have to sit through depressing passages of a cursed man, but one who was still fighting for life.

The Goblin King is an enjoyable read on what makes a monster and what makes a man. It’s a grand new fairytale about breaking curses and happily ever afters. Even though the writing lacked that vital touch to fully suck me in emotionally I was still invested and I have faith that the next book, Kiss of the Goblin Prince, will make that leap. The world of the Shadowlands and Goblins is something I am looking forward to visiting and getting better acquainted with.

February 25, 2012

Every fairy tale has to have some basis in fact, right? That's what Eliza thought as she made a desperate plea to the legendary Goblin King. If he could grant her wish, she'd finally be safe. He would protect her. But what would he ask in return...?

Enjoy this short free prequel and a sneak peek of The Goblin King, the first of a highly imaginative new paranormal series by Shona Husk.

Review:

It's starting to become a seriously annoying trend in the PNR genre to have a little “short story” to introduce a new series. Anya Bast's Dark Magick series comes to mind, where you're reading along and you realize that there has to be a short story before. Because while the story is fine, you realize that you're out of the loop and have missed something. Or Kim Harrison's Madison Avery Trilogy. You honestly can not enjoy that series without reading the short story that came out first.

So in my mind the same is true for The Goblin King. You don't have to read this short story to get the book. However, if you read The Summons it will help your overall emotional build up. And I'm saying this after just finishing The Summons and jumping right into The Goblin King. Why they just didn't put The Summons as a prologue is beyond me.

The Summons is a cute introduction to a Goblin who was once a great king. He fights to maintain what little part of his human soul remains, not just for him but for the last of his warriors. The King is continuously summoned as part of his curse by any who call upon the Goblin King. Once he would have to do all the summoner bids him to do, now he can choose to accept it. It's quite a surprise to him when a girl summons him to her. Both giving each other some child like hope to hold on to.

The Goblin King's story is greatly enhanced by this 20 page “short story.” It builds an emotional connection that the the author should have realized needs to be there from the get go. It's a sweet and innocent introduction to the beauty and the beast. If you have no intentions of reading The Goblin King, leave this be. If you do have every intention to read it, then this is a must! After all it is a free short story.

Sexual Content: Kissing and unwanted male advances. Pretty clean

4/5- Great! Really enjoyed it.

Previous book(s) in series:

Reviewed on BW:

Amazon:

Goodreads:

The Goblin King (1) Kiss of the Goblin Prince (2) For the Love of a Goblin Warrior (3)

February 24, 2012

These are of the latest covers! So I haven’t gotten up to posting all the “old” covers I’ve missed, but it’s coming.

I have to confess after not blogging for so long I’ve gotten out of the swing of things. Even thought I’ve really missed it I find myself sitting down and finding other things to do. Then I constantly think afterwards, “I really want to post something. I miss it.” My blog is my little haven, and I’ve abandoned it. *sigh*

These covers are awesome, but there’s always something that just doesn’t quite fit.

Book Description:

Jacinda was supposed to bond with Cassian, the "prince" of their pride. But she resisted long before she fell in love with Will—a human and, worse, a hunter. When she ran away with Will, it ended in disaster, with Cassian's sister, Miram, captured. Weighed down by guilt, Jacinda knows she must rescue her to set things right. Yet to do so she will have to venture deep into the heart of enemy territory.

The only way Jacinda can reach Miram is by posing as a prisoner herself, though once she assumes that disguise, things quickly spiral out of her control. As she learns more about her captors, she realizes that even if Will and Cassian can carry out their part of the plan, there's no guarantee they'll all make it out alive. But what Jacinda never could have foreseen is that escaping would be only the beginning....

Loyalties are tested and sacrifices made in the explosive conclusion to Sophie Jordan's Firelight trilogy.

Don’t like it. The only unique thing about this is how the tattoo is incorporated the title.

Book Description:

IN THE WAR BETWEEN THE GODS…

No one patches up the incoming wounded like Dr. Petra Robichaud. Recruited by the gods for her uncanny medical skills, she’s the best M*A*S*H surgeon in the army. Along with a nosy guard sphinx, vegetarian werewolf, and other paranormal paramedics, she bandages soldiers who are built like Greek gods (literally.) But when one sexy immortal ends up on her operating table—half dead and totally to-die-for—Petra’s afraid she’ll lose her patient and her heart…

NOTHING IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN LOVE

Commander Galen of Delphi is one gorgeous but stubborn demi-god. When his spirit tries to slip out of his fatally wounded body, Dr. Petra has to slip it back in—unwittingly revealing her ability to see ghosts. Now that Galen knows her secret, he’s convinced she’s part of an ancient prophesy. If the oracles are right, Petra could lead Galen’s army to peace. And if he seduces her on the way to hell and back? Heaven knows—all’s fair in love and war…

It really looks amazing. The flaming sword, the stormy city scene on the river, and that hot and yummy star. Smoldering really.

And then he’s wearing a freaking midriff baring top. WHAT. THE. HELL.

Book Description:

A fallen angel with a mission and a medical examiner who’s lost her faith are fighting for their souls in a glittering, near-future Manhattan…Blind faith is for fools. That’s what Dr. Morgan Sterling believes. And she’s going to prove it by curing the zombie plague ravaging her city’s slums. She’s certain it’s not a sign of the End of Days, but a nasty disease — until an angel appears in her morgue in a flash of glory.

Luniel is not just a fallen angel. He’s a powerful warrior sworn to fight evil in hopes of a chance at redemption. He’s after the demon princes who are stealing the seven vials of holy wrath which, when perverted, will unleash eternal hell on earth.

To stop the plague, Luniel needs Morgan’s help, and her faith. But Morgan believes science is their salvation. If the zombie plague is a demonic curse — and if Luniel is true — he’ll have to prove it. Even if he loses his heart to true love or his soul to Hell…

Love how her eyes have so much shadow on them you can’t see them. Still this cover is average, it really doesn’t stand out.

In a perfect world, Sierra Fox would have stayed away from the Council she left years ago. But in this world—where spirits have the right to walk among the living—it’s her job to round up troublesome spooks and bring them before that very same Council.

Though her desk is piled high with open cases, she can’t resist an anonymous summons to a mysterious late-night meeting with a bunch of other hunters, each of whom seems to have a unique specialty. The news is dire: something is tearing at the fabric of the universe. If the hunters can’t find who or why in time, something’s going to give in a very messy way.

As current cases, family secrets, new clues and her tangled love life slowly wind themselves into an impossible knot, Sierra finds herself the target of a power-sucking duo intent on stealing her mojo. And realizing she holds the key to the last hope of sealing the widening rift.

Warning: Spook catching: may contain traces of ectoplasm and otherworldly nasties. Not recommended for those with allergies to ghosts, demons, and with boyfriends who think your power is theirs. While reading, avoid dark patches and stay to the light.

It’s a beautiful cover, it’s just too dark. There’s no enough contrast between the highlights and shadows to really achieve the great look they’re going for.

Beauty is pointless when no one's looking.

Brianna Paxton has been invisible to guys since the eighth grade. She’s pretty enough, it’s just that no one bothers to look. There’s almost nothing that can’t be explained with science, and Brianna has a theory: she’s missing the pheromone that attracts people to one another. Brianna’s theory is shot to hell in one frozen, silver moment, when time stops and Blake Williams not only sees her, he recognizes something inside her that she’s been hiding from even herself.

Before Brianna fully understands who and what she is, she accidentally binds her soul to Blake. Forced to find a way to reconcile forbidden love and her bloody heritage, Brianna discovers that there's nothing pointless about her, and Blake may be in the most danger of all.

The first cover is the “new” one that certain blogs are posting. However, the second one is what Goodreads and Amazon is showing.

The first one isn’t really memorable. However I like it better then the second one—it just tries too hard.

Their power gives them strength...and makes them targets.

Quinn Caldwell is the epitome of a modern goddess. Her power source is the moon, her abilities restricted only by physical resources and lunar phase. She runs a consulting business and her father's bar, serves on the board of the ancient Society for Goddess Education and Defense, and yearns for Nick Jarrett, professional goddess protector and the soul mate she can never have.

But someone has developed the rare and difficult ability to drain a goddess of her powers, and Quinn is a target. With the world thinking Nick has gone rogue (whatever that means) and that Quinn is influenced by "family ties" she didn't know she had, keeping themselves safe while working to find the enemy proves harder each day.

Teenage drama. This cover does not make me want to read this book. It just looks like some tacky OC cover.

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally.Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Like the fire that killed his parents. Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it. More than Gabriel’s pride is at stake -- this could cost him his family, maybe his life. And no one seems to hear him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Layne understands family problems, and she understands secrets. She has a few of her own. Gabriel can’t let her guess about his brothers, about his abilities, about the danger that’s right at his heels. But there are some risks he can’t help taking. The fuse is lit…

His wings are amazing! They look like a mirage. Or maybe something spun from glass, or silk, or spiders’ webs, or magic . . . either way they look great.

Between an angel and a desperate woman comes salvation and a raw passion that challenges them at every turn…

When Aurora Robinson attempts to open a rift between dimensions to embrace her true heritage, an arrogant Archangel is the only one who can save her from the jaws of hell. And while she owes Gabriel her life, she's determined not to fall at his feet-despite the desire she feels whenever they're together.

After his wings were brutally destroyed millennia ago, Gabriel has no compassion for humans like those who ruined him and betrayed the ones he loved. But when he inexplicably finds himself defying ancient protocols to rescue a woman from a fate worse than death, he is shocked by the searing attraction he feels for a mortal.

As the ancient forces that seek to punish Aurora for her actions close in, Gabriel offers the tempting woman protection at his private sanctuary. But as they both succumb to their desires, they discover an even deeper connection-one that threatens to consume them.

Dislike. The girl and the elegant background do not look well together. Clearly she was pasted in, and that is a look I hate.

Emma Jane Hellsbane just unwittingly triggered a whole bunch of nephilim to come into their powers—and this new army has teamed up with Bariel, demon straight from Hell, who’s made it his mission to kill all the magisters on Earth. When they come after Eli, Emma and Officer Dan must work together to save him, but this makes Eli all the more tempted to Fall for Emma. And his fighting his feelings for her means Heaven has taken notice.

Now Emma isn’t just fighting off demons, rogue nephilim and Fallen angels, she’s defending her womanhood to the judgmental Seraphim angels, too, who want to separate Eli from Emma Jane. Can she protect Eli, Officer Dan, and find her rogue father? For Emma Jane, it’s all in a day’s work as Heaven’s ultimate bounty hunter.

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